Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to door jamb protectors, and more particularly to a door jamb protector that can be removably attached to a door jamb with self-coiling spring strips.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art teaches rectangular pieces of material that include self-coiling spring strips for biasing the material either towards a flat configuration or a coiled configuration.
For example, Prescott, U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,804, teaches a insulator apparatus for a beverage container. The insulator apparatus of Prescott teaches a small rectangle of foam rubber having embedded therein two spring strips positioned laterally down the length of the rectangle, as opposed to laterally across the width of the rectangle. Furthermore, the Prescott apparatus is quite small, having a length that is less than the circumference of a beverage container and an even smaller width.
Another example of this type of construction is found in Weder, U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,942, which teaches a spring strip wrapping and method for using the wrapping to wrap around a floral arrangement. The wrapping includes two sheets of material having mounted therebetween one or two spring strips adapted for wrapping the material around a floral arrangement.
Additional prior art references that include spring strips include the following: Stem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,452 (self-closing bag), Anello, U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,023 (novelty toy), and London, U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,548 (hugging novelty device).
The prior art does teach many forms of door frame protectors, including the following:
Freelove, U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,130, teaches a door frame protector that extends around the front, rear, and inside surfaces of a jamb and door stop. The shield includes elongate front and rear inside sections of extruded plastic to engage around the frame.
Other door frame protectors include the following: Wamsher, U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,998, Weller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,320, Homolka et al., U.S. 2001/0049909 A1, Raulerson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,878, and Salvucci, U.S. Pat. No. D409,902.
The above-described references are hereby incorporated by reference in full.
The prior art teaches the use of self-coiling spring strips to fasten an apparatus around an object. However, the prior art does not teach the need for or the construction of a protective device that can be removably attached to a door jamb. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a door jamb protector for protecting a door jamb. The door jamb protector includes the combination of a protective sheet and at least two elongate spring strips that together function to protect the door jamb. The protective sheet includes a top surface and an opposing bottom surface bounded by a first longitudinal edge, a second longitudinal edge, and a pair of opposing lateral edges. The first longitudinal edge is opposite the second longitudinal edge. Each of the at least two elongate spring strips has a convex surface, a concave surface, a first end, and a second end. Each of the at least two elongate spring strips has the property of self-coiling when either the first or second end is bent back over the convex surface. Each of the at least two elongate spring strips is associated with the protective sheet such that the first end is generally adjacent to the first longitudinal edge, the second end is generally adjacent to the second longitudinal edge, and the at least two elongate spring strips are generally parallel to each other.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a door jamb protector having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a door jamb protector that can easily be attached to a door jamb for protecting the door jamb, and then easily removed once it is no longer needed.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.